Published: November 03, 2009 12:13 am      

Dough-Nuts!

Family camping out for free Krispy Kremes

CLARKSVILLE — Many people are going crazy for Krispy Kreme doughnuts today, as the popular chain opens its location along Veterans Parkway. But for Cory and Heather Hoehn — who are camping out with their kids in the parking lot — it’s about more than food, it’s about family.

“We decided to come out because my husband actually proposed to me using a Krispy Kreme box,” Heather said Monday. “So, it’s especially near and dear to our heart.”

Heather was living in Texas — she is originally from Southern Indiana — and because she couldn’t get Krispy Kreme doughnuts where she lived, she would try and get them whenever she came back home. Knowing her affinity for the treats, Heather’s then future husband, Cory, tempted her with the doughnuts, but had also placed a ring inside the box.

Ten years later ,the Krispy Kreme box of still holds special meaning for the couple.

“We love the doughnuts and having the attachment to it makes it all the sweeter,” Heather said. “So, we just thought it would be good and cheesy to come out and make it a family adventure.

“Anything that gives us the opportunity to have family time is awesome, so the kids are loving this,” Heather said as she and her family manned the tent at the Clarksville location, which started selling glazed doughnuts and other treats at 5 a.m. Krispy Kreme awarded the first customer who enters the store one dozen glazed doughnuts every week for a year, as well as sweet consolation prizes for the next several people through the doors.

The Jeffersonville couple’s children were fairly easy to get on board with the plan, but Heather admitted she had to offer up some persuasion to get Cory to go along with it.

“I had to twist my husband’s arm a little bit to do this, but once he got here, he was like, ‘aren’t you glad we’re doing this?’” she said.

Jackson, the couple’s 3-year-old son, kept his mom company Monday and was expected to be joined by his sisters, Zoe and Kayla, when they got out of school. The family is making the most of its campout since they claimed their spot and set up a tent Sunday morning.

“We got this tent last year thinking that we would take the family out and camp outside, but it’s only been set up in our backyard. So, this is our biggest camping adventure yet,” Cory said. “We’ll have some friends and family that’ll stop by [tonight] and keep us a little bit of company.”

The couple was even planning on having dinner in the parking lot.

“Tonight, we are going to bring the charcoal grill out and have a family dinner,” Heather said.

While the Hoehns are all for camping out and waiting for the doughnut shop to open, the response they’ve gotten has been different, but consistent.

“It’s been unanimous,” Cory said. “They all think we’re crazy. And they’re right, we are crazy.”

Heather has heard the same thing.

“If I had a doughnut for every time somebody said I was crazy, I would have three dozen already,” she said.

As strange as it sounds, more people are likely to line up behind the Hoehns.

The next 11 customers that enter the Clarksville location, after the Hoehns, will receive a dozen of the company’s original glazed doughnuts once a month for the next year, and the first 100 customers will receive a Krispy Kreme Clarksville T-shirt.

While it is not new to have people camp out for a store’s opening, it’s usually individuals, said Ashley Schaffner, associate account manager with Guthrie/Mayes Public Relations of Louisville, which is representing Krispy Kreme.

“I’ve never really heard about a family doing it together like this,” Schaffner said.

But the Hoehn family is embracing the outing.

“It’s just a fun experience and we love Krispy Kremes,” Cory said.



SO YOU KNOW

• WHAT: Krispy Kreme

• WHERE: 1122 Veterans Parkway, Clarksville

• WHEN: Opens today

• HOURS: 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday; 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday

• TODAY’S EVENTS: The store will host its grand opening today with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 11 a.m., along with free samples, free T-shirts, doughnut giveaways and other Krispy Kreme contests.

• MORE INFORMATION: Follow Krispy Kreme locally on Twitter — @KrispyKreme_IN; and on Facebook — Krispy Kreme Clarksville.